John Beilein signs contract extension at Michigan

Michigan basketball coach Beilein has signed a three-year extension that replaces his previous contract and keeps him with the Wolverines through the 2018-19 season. The 60-year-old Beilein will make $2.45 million a year in total compensation. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

ANN ARBOR — Fresh off the first Final Four appearance of his career, Michigan coach John Beilein has a new contract.

Athletic director Dave Brandon told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Beilein has signed a three-year extension that replaces his previous contract and keeps him with the Wolverines through the 2018-19 season. The 60-year-old Beilein will make $2.45 million a year in total compensation.

“I am very excited to have this opportunity to coach at the University of Michigan for at least five more years,” Beilein said in a statement. “My staff and I will continue to work every day with our student-athletes to ensure they grow from this incredible educational opportunity.”

The Wolverines lost in the NCAA title game last season to Louisville. Beilein’s previous contract extension kept him under contract through 2015-16.

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Michigan hired Beilein in March 2007, a week after he led West Virginia to the NIT championship. Last season was the Wolverines’ first national championship game appearance in two decades.

“John is a tremendous ambassador of the University of Michigan and one of the most highly respected coaches in the country,” Brandon said in a statement. “He recruits outstanding young men to represent the men’s basketball program and develops them as players, students and future leaders. John has built a program that will compete for Big Ten Championships on a regular basis and make exciting NCAA tournament runs.”

Everywhere Beilein has been, from little schools to one of the biggest, he has won.

The native of Burt, N.Y., has a career record of 673-403. His first job was at Erie (N.Y.) Community College in 1978, and he went on to coach at Nazareth, LeMoyne, Canisius, Richmond and West Virginia.

With his first contract at Michigan, Beilein became the school’s highest-paid basketball coach ever with a six-year deal that was worth $1.3 million a season plus bonuses.

Former athletic director Bill Martin, who hired Beilein to replace Tommy Amaker, said back then that negotiations with Beilein took 10 seconds in part because Beilein said his $2.5 million buyout at West Virginia was his responsibility.

Beilein has taken Michigan to the NCAA tournament four times, and in 2012, the team shared its first Big Ten title since 1986. Guards Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. were both taken in the first round of this year’s NBA draft.